Beginning in the mid-1950's it was a common practice for utility companies, such as gas utility companies, to install plastic pipelines to transport gas to a consumer. In some instances, locating metal wires were installed along with the pipeline to aid in identifying the exact location of a newly laid pipeline. In time, such pipelines became brittle and required repair. Subterranean plastic pipelines buried with locating wires were, and continue to be, fairly easy to locate using magnetic detecting equipment. Plastic pipelines buried without locating wires or with inaccurately placed locating wires are next to impossible to locate with any degree of specificity, as they cannot be mapped via conventional electrical current, or magnetometer detection means.
A "dig-in" is a term used throughout the pipeline industry to refer to the unintentional hitting or breaking of a subterranean pipeline. As the exact location of buried pipelines is often poorly documented, it is estimated that over two million such "dig-ins" occur each year. The danger associated with damaging or breaking a gas pipeline is obvious.
A somewhat less obvious exposure exists for those parties precipitating an unintentional "dig-in", namely, liability exposure. Typically, if a dig-in occurs within two feet of where a utility company indicates a pipeline resides, the cost of pipeline repair and "dig-in" related liability falls upon the excavating party. Should a "dig-in" occur outside of the two foot parameter established by the utility company, the utility company assumes liability and repair responsibility.
Consequently, what is needed is an improved method and apparatus for inserting a locator wire into a pre-existing plastic or other non-metallic based pipeline such that an accurate displacement and location of the pipeline can be assured. Thus, eliminating or greatly reducing the likelihood of inadvertent dig-ins.